Development of Axial-Flow Hydrokinetic Turbine Systems for Shallow Tropical Rivers
Currently, the majority population of the world without access to electricity are countries in the tropics. Although Malaysia was among the tropical country listed to achieve 100 % accessibility in 2015, the state of Sarawak still has about 5 % of its population that does not. Due to the uneconomica...
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English English English |
| Published: |
2023
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/43045/3/Tan%20Kheng%20Wee_dsva.pdf http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/43045/4/Thesis%20PhD_%20Tan%20Kheng%20Wee%20-%2024%20pages.pdf http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/43045/7/Thesis%20PhD_%20Tan%20Kheng%20Wee.ftext.pdf |
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| Summary: | Currently, the majority population of the world without access to electricity are countries in the tropics. Although Malaysia was among the tropical country listed to achieve 100 % accessibility in 2015, the state of Sarawak still has about 5 % of its population that does not. Due to the uneconomical grid connection, the state government has implemented small-scale conventional Micro-Hydropower (MHP) and Solar Energy Systems (SES) because of their abundant resources. However, despite being the preferred choice, small-scale MHP is inapplicable in the area where the topography does not favour it. In the meantime, the off�grid rural communities rarely have the purchasing power to acquire expensive equipment manufactured in high-cost countries. Besides, few commercially available small-scale
Hydrokinetic Turbines (HKT) were developed specifically for shallow rivers (less than 1 m), and their design might not be entirely suitable for tropical rivers. Subsequently, this research aimed to construct a low-cost axial-flow HKT acceptable for shallow rivers in the tropics and would produce 2 kWh of energy per day. Two prototypes are designed and built in this research. The first was to evaluate the concept of building an HKT solely with off-the-shelf
materials while the second was to overcome the issues faced by the first. The second improved prototype, with a 0.585 m reprofiled fan rotor with swept-back blades as the turbine rotor, produced 92.29 W of power from a flow velocity of 1.26 m/s, and its estimated efficiency is 0.34. Therefore, it can generate more than 2 kWh per day and is considered
sufficient for a typical rural household. Besides, the improved prototype only costs USD 750 and is a fraction of the cost of commercial HKT for shallow rivers. Nevertheless, the study also revealed the Smart Drive motor as a promising and versatile candidate to be used as a generator for small-scale HKT construction. It produces less noise and has lower cogging torque than the DC brushed motor used in the improved prototype. A basic guide is also presented for small-scale HKT construction with the modified Smart Drive motor – with the 60 SP and 60P configuration – as an alternative generator. |
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